From the top!

New convertible top - $600
Potential cost for labor to install top - $1000
The look of my new beautiful bonnet - priceless!

Well, it took a total of approximately 12 hours over a three day span, many scratches and bruises on T's hands and a few dozen cuss words but the job is done! My girl has a new bonnet! A BLACK bonnet! She has gone from ghetto-not-so-fabulous to sexy mean machine with style the other cars only wish they had!

Without further adieu, some pics for your viewing pleasure. And, for those of you I may have already told...I was never too nervous about T doing the installation instead of having a professional do it. T is a perfectionist and has a lot of awesome skills. I knew that it would happen, that it would work and that it would look beyond perfect. Take a looksie!

Before pics of my old top:










Dirty and sad...old bonnet



Yikes, no turning back now!



And now!!!!









Nice addition to the driveway!



We ended up taking it for a spin to Chicago Pizza which is about 45 minutes from here. Why you might ask? Well, as with anything we do, it wasn't an easy task putting the top on. Besides the instructions leaving out pertinent information that we ended up having to guess about, my battery was dead. Yep, the door sensor was broken the day before so my door ajar light remained on for quite sometime leaving my brand new Walmart battery dead. No big deal, you say, since your switching out your top, you can't drive it anyway. This is true. However, my friends, technology wins over us once again! Throughout the process of changing the top, we had to open and close the top many times. Because this model was made at the turn of the century, everything is automated. Therefore, I needed at least auxillary power to move my top...and the battery was dead.

Therefore, T had to jump start my car each and every time. We ended up leaving the jumper cables attached to my battery for easy access. By the time day 3 of top replacement rolled around, I had no juice to cook. So we decided to give the girl a good jump and take a long drive (which is very easy to do when you live where we do) in order to give it time to revamp.

No problem though. I was so happy to drive my car with the new bonnet and freshly cleaned! I even organized the glove compartment, the center console and the trunk (what a disaster that was). I swear she was driving nicer and I really think that she was smiling (can't you tell in the pics??).

So, a note about my T. He is incredible! He became a bit frustrated on Sunday evening. It is hard to explain but there is a rib that fits under the back window that the fabric has to be fit around. It is LODGED under the FRAME of the car in the back!!!! It took at least an hour or so to get it out. That time probably doubled getting it back in. And then the screws that lock it in place are out of viewing range and T had to blindly find the small holes for the screws. Now, T doesn't get upset easily. As a matter of fact, there are only a handful of times that I have seen him really frustrated or upset...this was one of them. All in all, I don't think there were more than a dozen cuss words spoken the entire time. That's good! And I think the majority of them probably came from me.

Regardless, I have a sexy car and you can all be envious now! Haha! =P

In other news, I am in the process of cleaning and organizing the guest room. It was already ok but I really wanted to get the closet cleaned out. I got rid of a ton of sweaters. Seriously, there isn't a whole lot of need for sweaters out here. And there are only a handful that I ever wear and I wash and repeat as necessary.

I haven't given up on the crap room yet. I figured I would get the guest room where I wanted it and then tackle the crap room. I think the truth is that the crap room scares me. It intimidates me. So much....CRAP!

The pets are doing good! Jazzy is her old self...well, with the addition of some random shaved spots from her jaunt with the hospital. All of her tests came back negative so they are calling it idiopathic vestibular disease...in other words, they have no clue what caused all of that. Umm, thanks! And enjoy your next golf game on us!!! We will buy the drinks and the caviar as well!

Kizzy experimented with a sour patch kid yesterday. You know those candies that are sour at first and then sweet? Kizzy was intrigued and thought he would give it a try. He licked it for a while and then decided it would be a good "dead" mouse for a while so he batted at it. I guess Tatum dropped a couple of gummy bears when she was here (I think T was trying to teach her the classy art of throwing them in the air and catching them in her mouth - she was missing!) because I have found numerous, variable flavored bears in random places. I was fascinated until I saw Kizz with an orange bear in his mouth. As he spit it out and raked it across the floor I figured out what was going on. Mystery solved.

Jack is doing great. He is sporting his Steelers collar ready for the big game. I have noticed he is pacing more at night so I know he is getting his game face on and ready to cheer for the boys! I know he needs to be groomed before the game but he says he doesn't care. He just needs a dog bowl of beer and bones and he will be fine if no one comes to sit with him. He reminded me that he owns the couches and that the stank will help keep his area clear. We'll see.

The gym has been going great! I am really pushing myself hard - harder than I thought I would not working out with my usual partners. And I like going in the mornings. I must say...I don't know if I will switch back at this point. But I will miss Lorraine and will probably still do Saturday morning classes with her. T says he likes it better too. He says he likes hanging out with me into the evening. I used to have to say goodbye around 4 and not return until 8 at night. I think the truth is, he likes getting dinner earlier! ;)

So, my doctor's appointment is Thursday. I am looking forward to talking to my doc about everything that has happened. The lady at the desk told me that they really don't even need to see me. Well, too bad. You're gonna. Just keep your stinkin' needles and blood bags away from me!!

On a TMI note (skip this Dad), AF seems to be on her way out...slowly but surely. I have already packed her bags...they are sitting next to the door. We are changing the locks after she leaves. Good riddens bag lady!

I LOVE Facebook! Forget MySpace forever. Those young pups!! Facebook is awesome! I have found so many old friends! Including about a dozen people from high school! I have also reconnected with LeDonya, my grade school best friend, and her brother Chip. It is absolutely incredible! And they have an instant message feature so that we can talk in real time. I am sold and don't know if I will ever go back to the sunny juvenile halls of MySpace.

Welp, all the top replacin', car cleanin', room organizin', pizza eatin', two beer drinkin' has really gotten me pooped. I think it is time to take a big sit down on the ol' couch and take a look at some crap TV before heading on to bed. Sorry for the delay in the write up. It has been quite an interesting and fun three days!

Until next time...

STATUS: Dawna is so very happy with her sexy car!
MOOD: Tired but happy